


under cover of DARKness

by Noa



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Anal Fingering, Bandits Die, Blood, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Cute, Developing Relationship, Feelings, First Time, Funny, Innuendo, Kissing, M/M, Niles being Niles, Odin being Odin, POV Alternating, Praise Kink, Requested fic, Romance, Sexual Content, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-15 15:12:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7227532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noa/pseuds/Noa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niles is charged with teaching Odin the basics of stealth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. sneak

“No good. You’re far too stiff.” Niles crosses his arms at Odin. “You’ll be catching blades before you even leave camp.”

Odin frowns, and awkwardly tries to force his body into relaxation. It doesn’t work, obviously, and it kind of hurts too. With a sigh of resignation, he stands up proper, and rubs at his neck.

“You make this look so easy,” he admits, and Niles laughs.

“So sneaking around isn’t on a Chosen One’s extensive list of talents?” he teases, but Odin’s eyes light up the way they do when he’s struck by one of his trademark naming spells, and Niles’s laugh falls immediately.

“That must be it,” Odin says, almost shocked by his own revelation.

“..What is?” Niles asks carefully.

“Yes.” Odin seems pleased. “My Chosen blood simply burns too hot to conceal!” Then he makes a pained face, and he looks down at his hands. “How I would curse this power I wield, had it not been granted to me by Fate herself…”

Niles is quiet for a second, debating whether or not to play along.

“Is that what I should tell our lord, then?” he asks.

Odin’s eyes widen slightly.

“No, no no that’s – that won’t be necessary, I’ll,” He clears his throat, runs a hand through his hair, and Niles feels something expand in his chest. He’s seen many, but Odin’s flustered face is definitely one of his favorites.

“…I’ll attempt to suppress my aura.” Odin ends in a mutter. Niles unfolds his arms, and smiles.

“Wonderful.”

*

Odin is… loud.

Expressive, really. It makes him honest, and Niles appreciates that. It’s not ideal on the battlefield, though. Especially not when recent missions have been riddled with infiltrations and scouting objectives. Not to mention the side tasks lord Leo charged them with. Niles had previously been more than capable of handling such recon himself, but it became increasingly dangerous to venture out alone, even for him.

Venturing out on a stealth mission with _Odin_ , however, proved to be far more dangerous. Aside from loudly announcing his presence to the enemy (“to offer them a chance to flee, before they must face my full power”), Odin had the talent of stepping on every branch in a forest road, tripping over every pebble in paved streets, and falling into coughing fits when the sky was sandy. And then there’s that thing he does where he turns spellcasting into a game of ‘the louder you shout, the more damage you’ll do’. Or when he starts monologues in plain sight of the enemy, expecting them to wait and listen before filling his chest with arrows.

All of which is plenty amusing to forgive, Niles thought. Leo, however, sought to improve on Odin’s inconspicuousness, both to relieve Niles of some of the workload, and to feel more at ease when he sends his retainers out on yet another critical mission.

When it came to instructing Odin, Niles was the obvious choice. No one else knew Odin well enough, and no one else had quite the patience Niles seemed to have when it came to ~~tolerating~~ teaching him. It almost seemed like Niles _enjoyed_ watching Odin struggle.

(He totally did.)

Which is why Odin’s lack of progress didn’t bother Niles in the slightest. He could watch Odin’s attempts at sneaking all day long.

Odin, however, was not fated to have that kind of patience. He cringed hard when he accidentally stepped on a rather thick branch, cracking loud as thunder beneath his feet. Again. Kicking at the splintered wood, Odin made a grumbling noise before he sat himself down on the dirt road, folding his arms and legs in a way that could only be called defiant.

Niles bites the inside of his cheek. “You’re still too tense. Perhaps a massage would help..?”

Odin doesn’t hear him. He huffs, then groans, and lets himself lie back to look up at the sky above him. The sun set not long ago, leaving them in the faint shadow of dusk. They’ve been at it all day, but so far all Odin had to show for his training was a stiff neck and twenty broken branches. They made good fire starters, at least.

Odin grumbles some more, and Niles decides that they’ve done enough for the day. Odin’s mood had turned positively sour, and when Odin wasn’t happy, no one was happy.

“Let’s continue this tomorrow, hm?” Niles offers.

Odin’s face brightens instantaneously, and the relief in his eyes makes Niles’s fingers twitch. No one should be allowed to be that transparent. It did strange things to Niles’s stomach.

 _Odin_ did strange things to Niles’s stomach.

Which was strange enough on its own, seeing how most people just left Niles to feel nauseous with contempt.

It started out normal enough. When Odin swooped into his life, Niles had every intention of despising him as much as he did everyone else. It shouldn’t have been as hard as it was, either: Odin looked like a royal, floated in a bubble sustained by naivety, and lived his life like it was one big fairy tale. Odin was exactly the type of person Niles loved to hate.

But then he saw Odin’s smile. Heard those insanely ridiculous titles he bestowed upon spells, weapons and friends alike. He saw Odin following lord Leo down a hallway, trying to convince him to wear something more ‘heroic’ in his hair. He’d even brought a few accessories, and Leo looked like he would give anything for someone to have an extra charge on a Rescue staff. The look on his face was priceless, and at the time, Niles was too amused to relieve his lord of Odin’s well-intended pestering.

Now it’s Niles who feels pestered.

Because Odin is so _genuine_. So real, so unapologetically, embarrassingly, hilariously beautifully real. He wears his heart on both sleeves, his thoughts on his tongue, his dreams in his eyes, and Niles…

Niles couldn’t bring himself to hate that. To hate him. All he felt when he looked at Odin was a bubbling, bursting sensation of warmth, a desire to hide him in his ragged cloak, and shelter him from the reality of the world. Protect him from the reality that would surely break his heart.

It turned out Odin was more than familiar with that reality.

They never really talked about it. They never had to. Niles paid attention to the subtle hints hidden in Odin’s theatric behavior. He saw Odin slip away for late night walks, overheard what sounded an awful lot like crying from the chambers next to his own. And the next morning, Niles saw in Odin’s still swollen eyes something he recognized all too well, and he realized that he’d been wrong.

Odin’s way of living wasn’t built on naivety at all. He knew pain. The kind of pain no one should have to know.

First, this only made Niles more determined to hate him. Someone who knew the injustices of the world, yet chose to ignore them… they deserved whatever misfortune Fate had left to spare. But whenever Niles opened his mouth for a demeaning comment, whenever he had a chance to bruise Odin with his own beliefs, he just couldn’t go through with it.

While there were plenty of people Niles would guiltlessly rob of hope, something stopped him from doing the same to Odin. For the first time, he considered that maybe, people who fought to retain Odin’s relentless optimism deserved happiness rather than misfortune. And the more time Niles spent alongside him, the more he felt like Odin, especially, deserved happiness.

The only other person Niles had ever felt that strongly for was his liege, and even those feelings did not compare to the way Odin twisted his insides.

Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe Niles longed for the days where he too could wear such a smile, step so light, appear so unburdened. Maybe Niles wished he could have that same faith, wished he could give the world as many chances as it needed. Give _himself_ as many chances as he needed.

Yet, this fluttering sensation at the sight of Odin… It doesn’t _feel_ like jealousy.

It feels like Odin is a meteor shower, bright and wild in the darkest of nights, every flash of his presence like a secret, and Niles doesn’t really know why, but he fears that the moment he looks away, those lights will disappear forever.

So he doesn’t look away, and entertains the thought that maybe, he could find himself one more chance to waste.


	2. unlock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin learns to pick a lock.

Odin wasn’t sure what to expect when Niles announced they’d try something different today. His smile told him about as much as it always did  –nothing at all– so Odin figured he’d just have to wait and see. And that’s what he did, strolling up to their usual sparring spot in a far corner of the training field, eyes on the sky. It was cloudy.

Niles was already there, sitting cross-legged on the sandy ground. He waved when he saw Odin approach, or made an attempt to, because when Odin got closer he saw that Niles’s hands had been bound together with a pair of dark steel handcuffs.

Odin nearly chokes on his tongue.

Niles doesn’t wait for him to find his words. “Lock pick practice,” he says, like Odin really should’ve seen it coming. He nods at the space in front of him and Odin quietly sits himself down. “Surely you didn’t think walking around quietly was all there is to it?”

Odin barely heard him, eyes glued to Niles’s wrists, studying the metal that held them together. Sure, Odin could see the merit in learning how to open locks. Only a handful of people in the army actually knew how to do it and it was risky to have to rely on them all the time. Still…

Of all the methods available to instruct Odin in the art of lock picking, _this_ is the one Niles comes up with? Laslow would never let him hear the end of it.

Not that Laslow had any right to speak. He was getting his instructions from Kaze, who Odin imagines would be infinity times easier to work with. Kaze doesn’t smile like Niles does. His voice doesn’t make Odin shiver like a touch of ice on a sweltering Summer day.

Niles clears his throat, and Odin startles like he got caught changing clothes. He quickly reaches for the lock picks by Niles’s side and tries to ignore how sweaty his hands are getting.

“So, I just…” Odin hesitantly reaches out to touch the lock on one of the cuffs. Gods, he has no idea what he’s doing. The fact that he can feel Niles grinning at him doesn’t really help him focus either.

“Stick it in slowly," Niles says, and oh, he sounds like he’s enjoying this _way_ too much. Odin swallows. He can’t let Niles psych him out. He can do this. He is Odin Dark, and no challenge is too great! How hard could it be to pick a tiny lock like this anyway?

*

Turns out it could be very, very hard to pick a tiny lock. Odin was at attempt twelve, having bent half of Niles’s lock picks, and he just couldn’t figure it out. His hands insisted on trembling, his heart slammed like he’d been running for hours and damn it all, he couldn’t sneakily use magic either because Niles would definitely feel it if he did. Maybe that’s why they aren’t practicing on a door.

“You need to concentrate,” Niles says, like its easy, and Odin feels like punching him in the face. If Niles would just stop looking at him like that maybe Odin could actually manage to concentrate.

“I’m trying,” he mutters. “But I can’t see what I’m doing.”

Niles clicks his tongue, and Odin’s eyes snap up. A shock of icy dread travels through him. He’s certain this is where Niles tells him that he’s not going to get it, there’s not a shred of talent in him, he’ll inform lord Leo of his failure-

“Hold still," is all Niles says, and Odin does, confused as he watches Niles’s face.

He should have been looking at Niles’s hands instead.

Odin barely registers the feeling of the cuff before it closes around his wrist. He blinks down at his own hand with a vacant stare and begins to realize that Niles didn’t just undo the handcuffs _while being in them_ , he also redid them to shackle his and Odin’s hands together.

And oh no, oh Gods, this was _way_ worse.

“You’re not supposed to see what you’re doing," Niles says, offering a new lock pick to Odin, but instead of pulling back once Odin takes it Niles keeps his hand pressed securely against Odin’s fingers. The air around them feels thick and clammy and Odin tries not to think about how their hands are touching. Niles’s palm isn’t sweaty at all, and that’s just not fair. “You have to _feel_ it.”

“…Feel it,” Odin repeats dumbly, expecting Niles to tangent into another innuendo or three rather than offer any useful advice. But Niles does neither and guides Odin’s hand, with the lock pick, to the lock on Odin’s cuff. Odin stares hard.

The pick slides into the lock smoothly (why didn’t it do that when Odin tried it?), and Niles does a twisty thing with his wrist, and Odin hears a quiet _click_. The lock pops open.

“There. Did you feel that?” Niles asks.

“Uh.”

Niles sighs. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Don’t you trust me?” Niles bares his teeth in a small little grin, and Odin thinks that while many would tell him he shouldn’t, he does trust Niles. He’s trusted him from the start. He’s had too many enemies to leave room for questioning his allies- It’s just not in his nature.

And it’s not like Niles has ever done anything to hurt him. He has a… special sense of humor, yes, but he’s never actually laid a finger on him. Out of everyone, even lord Leo, Niles is the one Odin spends most time with. Wins most fights with. Odin had no reason not to trust him.

“I do.”

“Then close your eyes for me," Niles repeats, and something about the way he says it makes Odin incapable of disobeying. His eyes close, and he draws a short breath when he feels Niles lead his hand again.

“Focus on the pick. Imagine it’s an extension of your hand,” Niles instructs, and Odin nods quickly, eyes squeezed shut.

This time Odin feels the lock pick touch the inside of the lock. He feels the lock resist, and he feels when the pick is about to bend, but he can’t feel where it’s supposed to go.

When Niles lets go of his hand, Odin opens his eyes in confusion.

“You’re tensing up again,” Niles says, and he seems kind of amused by it. Odin slumps, and Niles reaches up with his free hand to give Odin’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle,” he says, and he _winks_ , that bastard, but Odin smiles anyway and his hands relax.

“One more,” Niles says and Odin nods, determined to get it right. He closes his eyes without Niles telling him to, and focuses on the lock pick between his fingers.

Niles takes his hand again and Odin never realized it but Niles’s hands feel so much softer than they look, and they’re bigger than his own, probably stronger too, and lock picking Odin, focus on the lock picking.

Niles helps him position the pick, and Odin carefully pushes it inside. Then he turns, and he feels an immediate resistance keeping the pick from moving- so he changes the angle slightly and tries again. It moves further, and Odin doesn’t just hear the _click_ this time, he feels it too. Niles’s hand leaves him, and carefully, he opens his eyes. He finds Niles smiling widely and a single handcuff hanging open on his wrist.

He… did it?

“There you go," Niles says, and he looks proud, and Odin feels like he might burst. Then Niles’s smile regains that teasing edge. “Let’s try to keep breathing next time, hmm?”

“Ah,” Odin says, suddenly breathless. “Yes, alright.”

And he won’t say a word to Laslow, but he thinks that maybe having Niles teach him rather than Kaze is a good thing after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I learned a lot about lock picking today, lol. 
> 
> I tried to keep Niles from being too cringy, but some innuendos just had to happen, because it's Niles. And while I had this story planned out from start to finish, the more I write for it the more I feel I need to add in there, so, uh. I kind of have no idea how this will go! Naga take the wheel.


	3. learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odin learns too fast, and Niles learns things too.

The first door Niles has Odin break into is the one to Leo’s bedchambers. In case of an emergency, he tells Odin, who stares back at him in disbelief. They go through with it regardless, meeting up after dark to ascend the winded staircases up to prince Leo’s private quarters. Odin has one hand clutching Niles’s cape the whole way there, flinches at every little sound, and Niles pretends not to notice.

“Uh, are we absolutely certain this won’t see us behind bars,” Odin whispers. Niles motions him to come closer. He rummages through his pockets to produce a lock pick- been going through a lot of those recently.

“All the more practice if it does," Niles says. Odin makes an absolutely terrified face, and Niles sighs. This man was too pure for his own good. “If it bothers you that much, just pretend it’s _my_ room.” he adds, and Odin doesn’t seem relieved at all, but he doesn’t argue either. Niles holds out the pick and Odin takes it, taking his place next to Niles in front of the door’s keyhole.

“Now, like I showed you,” Niles instructs calmly, and Odin nods, carefully positioning the pick at the edge of the lock. Niles watches, though not Odin’s hands but his face. His body.

And what a sight he is to see. How his eyes narrow slightly when he focuses, brows furrowed, shoulders hunched. How he flexes his fingers before bracing himself against the door for balance. He is to put it plainly, wildly attractive like this, in all his insecure and unpracticed glory. The way he bites his lip when he slides the pick into the lock has Niles doing the same. It’s such a captivating display that Niles doesn’t notice the pick slipping into an odd angle. He almost misses it when Odin whispers his name.

“Niles,” he says quietly. “It’s stuck.”

It takes considerable effort for Niles not to burst into laughter, and even more to swallow the jokes just begging to be released from the tip of his tongue. Fortunately he manages both.

“Try twisting it," he offers, and Odin does. The metal screeches from within the door and Odin cringes. Niles isn’t worried – it takes more than that to wake lord Leo.

But then Odin pushes harder on the pick, puts his weight into it, and it slips straight through the lock to the other end of the door. Having braced himself against that door, Odin loses his balance, and his face hits the hardwood with a loud _thunk_.

Now _that_ would just about do it Niles thinks, and indeed seconds later the lock turns on its own and the door creaks open. Niles barely catches Odin’s shoulder in time to keep him from toppling forward into the room.

Leo stands in the door frame in his blue cotton nightwear, his hair a righteous mess and his expression sour. He yawns, and rubs at his eyes as he glances from Niles to Odin and back again. His retainers stare back quietly, Niles already smiling while Odin looks mortified.

“Would you kindly partake in your playdates elsewhere,” Leo says. “Before I use Brynhildr to build a tree house from your bones.”

Only lord Leo could sound so utterly terrifying while being half awake. Odin gapes, still frozen in shock as Niles offers his liege an apologetic grin.

“Of course, milord," he says, already in the process of dragging Odin away from the door. Leo huffs, and shakes his head in disapproval while Odin finally recovers enough to make words again.

“A thousand pardons my lo- _mmph!”_ he shouts, before Niles cuts him off with a strategically placed hand to the mouth, and Odin sputters and stumbles all the way back through the hall, down the stairs, until they find themselves in front of their own quarters again.

“I am NEVER,” Odin starts, quickly adjusting his volume when he sees the warning look in Niles’s eyes. “… _never_ listening to you again,” he finishes, pulling loose from Niles’s grip with the ferocity of a child who feels they’re too old to have their hand held.

“Mhm,” Niles hums. “I’ll see you at the training grounds tomorrow, then.”

Niles detects the faintest hint of red on Odin’s cheeks. “…Yes. Till morrow.”

*

Odin is a fast learner. Faster than Niles expected. Not that Niles thought him to be intellectually impaired- A mage as skilled as Odin undoubtedly has a brain to match. Still, it’s as if Odin’s been more motivated recently. More eager. He doesn’t let broken branches get him down (as much) and on some days, he even asks Niles for extra instruction after supper.

Niles sees change in himself, too. Those strange, twisting feelings in his stomach are spreading. His hands reach to fix Odin’s posture far more often than necessary, his knees feel weird when Odin laughs. And when Odin gets something right and Niles praises him, the smile he receives in return makes Niles feel like his heart will explode.

Why did he have to teach Odin stealth? A smile like that would disarm anyone who sees it. Put him at the front of the army and march all the way to victory, there's not a soul who would stop them.

As a result of Odin's fast learning, they’ve reached the point where there's nothing left but practice. Odin's steps are quiet now and his body moves fluidly. He’s much more aware of his surroundings, and he remembers to look up as well. It’s almost like he’s a different person, a complete 180 from the guy he was before when he couldn’t take three steps without tripping over his own two feet. It's clear that he doesn't need Niles's guidance anymore.

It would be a shame to have to stop though. Niles has come to enjoy these ‘playdates’, as lord Leo so adequately put it, quite a lot. He watches as Odin completes his path along the branch-laden obstacle course he'd set up earlier. Niles waits by the end, and when Odin reaches him he stares like a puppy expecting a treat. Niles resists the urge to pick him up for a twirl (that was a new feeling, though it felt very similar to the sensation in his stomach).

“Perfect," he says, and Odin _beams_. Niles feels like he got punched in the throat. That fluttery, twisty feeling creeps from his stomach to his arms, and before Niles can stop himself he’s placed his hand gently onto Odin’s head. Odin doesn’t shy away from the touch.

Instead, he closes his eyes.

Niles stares, fascinated, and lets his hand slide experimentally through the blond spikes of Odin’s hair. It’s so much softer than it looks, but not nearly as fine. Niles likes the way his fingers look when they’re curled into it and from the peaceful look on Odin’s face, the soft glow coloring the tips of his ears, Odin seems to like it too.

It’s not like they never touched before. Fighting as much and as close as they do, serving the same lord, it’s pretty hard not to be in each other’s face on a daily basis. Still, their touches have always been limited to the passing of weapons, or pushing each other out of the enemy’s range, or pulling the other back up on their feet…

And all those touches, however plentiful, feel nothing like the way Niles’s knuckles now brush down the side of Odin’s face. He notices the faintest of freckles, spread like stars under Odin’s eyes. He notices the healing bruise on his cheekbone, almost gone already, from when Odin fell into Leo’s door. He notices Odin’s lips look like he’s been biting them a lot. Then Odin’s eyes open, and Niles notices that Odin notices him, too.

Niles lets his hand fall away from Odin’s face and Odin blinks like he snapped out of a trance. They both take a step back, away from each other, though Niles’s step is slow and Odin’s step is hesitant.

“I think we’re done here," Niles says. He’s not sure why he’s speaking so quietly, or why the air feels so much dryer than before. Odin swallows, and nods.

“Yes. Okay," he says, just as quiet. “Tomorrow, then?”

Niles looks at him, sees him shuffle his feet and brush down his robes in a sudden fit of self-awareness. Then he looks at his hand, still tingling with the warmth of Odin’s skin. He decides not to tell Odin that he’s learned all he needs to know, because there are things he wants to learn himself.

And all of those things involve Odin. So Niles nods.

“Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-planned the plot and it might actually turn into a coherent story now. Here's hoping!


	4. realize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laslow helps Odin decide what matters, and what doesn't.

Laslow’s voice is like background music.

A pleasant white noise for Odin to drift off to, with enough intonation to sound human, but not so much that it demands attention. Laslow is tired, probably. Not only has he been training extra like Odin, but he also has Pieri to consider. He tells Odin that if he ever feels bad about his stealth all he has to do is drop by to see Pieri take a _stab_ at it. Odin doesn’t ask for details.

Mostly because his thoughts are elsewhere. They’re starting to settle there, picking out a nice plot of land to build a house far from anything relevant or constructive. His thoughts are happy there it seems, but their constant retreats are starting to take their toll on Odin’s listening skills. (Which in all honesty, aren’t all that great to begin with.)

_Snap!_

Laslow’s fingers snap inches from Odin’s face. The dreamy look in his eyes startles into alertness.

“Sorry,” Odin mumbles quickly. Laslow studies him, not looking annoyed as much as he looks curious.

“You’ve been doing that quite a lot recently,” Laslow says. “Anything you’d care to share?”

“No,” Odin answers immediately, causing Laslow to raise an eyebrow. He then continues. “Err.. I mean, these dark thoughts are _my_ burden.” He carefully meets Laslow’s eyes and sees that his friend isn’t buying it.

“Is that so," Laslow asks, rhetorically, because they both know that it isn’t. Odin feels a bit awkward being called out like this, and yet at the same time, he finds comfort in knowing that there’s someone who knows him well enough to see the things he tries to hide.

Even if those things are rather embarrassing.

“Is this about Niles?” Laslow then asks, cutting straight through, and Odin nearly chokes on his spit. Laslow’s smile gains a chesire-like quality. “Aahh.”

Odin starts stammering. How did Laslow know? Is he reading his mind? Where did he learn that kind of magic and more importantly, where can _Odin_ learn that kind of magic, because he could really use a Tome like that. Laslow however ensures him there’s no magic involved. Odin is both relieved and disappointed.

“I’ve seen the way you look at him," Laslow says, still smiling, that bastard.

“I do not look at him,” Odin tries to argue, crossing his arms and definitely not pouting.

“Of course, of course,” Laslow muses. “And he does not look at you either. Why, not a single longing glance has ever been cast in your direction, I’m sure.”

 _Now_ Odin’s interested. “What? You’ve seen him look at me?” Laslow’s expression shifts into _I knew it_ territory, and suddenly Odin feels nervous.

“How’s this,” Laslow proposes. “I’ll answer your questions, if you answer mine.”

Odin thinks about it for a second. The idea of sharing his thoughts makes him uneasy, but at the same time, he’s been bursting at the seams with all of these _feelings_ , without any space to articulate them.

“Swear you won’t tell a soul," Odin says.

Laslow zips his smiling mouth shut. “My lips are sealed. Let’s have some tea while we chat, shall we?”

*

Odin sank deeper into the hot water. He was lucky enough to find the bathhouse empty, giving him enough space for all the thoughts and feelings his talk with Laslow had brought to the surface. He absently ran his fingers through the water, enjoying the sound it made.

Laslow asked if Odin had feelings for Niles. Special feelings. It was the first time that Odin actually stopped the endless swirl of (dark) thoughts to entertain the possibility. What he found wasn’t surprising, but it _was_ a bit scary. He also burned his tongue on his tea.

Both he and Laslow knew full well that getting romantically involved with someone from this world wouldn’t spell anything but sadness. Laslow tackled this the way he always does: by loving so much that there’s no room left for that sadness. At times Odin envied Laslow for being able to love so freely, so genuinely, refusing to let the inevitable future turn his heart bitter.

For Odin, matters of the heart are a bit more complicated. He doesn’t remember being in love. He’s not even sure if he’s ever been attracted to someone. His focus has always been elsewhere: staying alive, saving the world, rebuilding what was broken.. And now that cycle has started all over again, with a new life, in a new world, cities of new rubble to gather up and reassemble.

But Odin’s heart is older now. His eyes are deeper with the sights they’ve seen, and his hands are learning to touch more than swords and Tomes.

He’s learning a lot. More specifically, he’s learning a lot from Niles.

Not just walking quietly, or picking locks with a hairpin. Odin learned that he likes the way his magic feels when it wraps around an arrow. He learned that he prefers to wear his hair a bit shorter, but that he definitely shouldn’t let Niles cut it, and he learned that his bathwater can never be too hot. He learned that cooking with two people is a serious challenge, and that he’s a morning person, team Leo’s only exception.

Then there’s that feeling when Niles looks his way. That excited burst of energy when he pulls off a successful assist and he can hear Niles chuckle “Not bad” behind him. The way warmth blooms from wherever Niles touches him, singing under his skin until the moment he falls asleep.

And without warning, Odin’s ‘fake’ life became the realest thing he’s ever known.

Laslow says that’s love. Odin wouldn’t know. What he does know, is that Niles makes him feel alive. Is that enough to risk his heart? Is it worth laying his bones bare, knowing that this soil is not where they will come to rest?

Laslow says it is. That love shouldn’t be mulled over too much or it will lose its luster. Odin wouldn’t know. What he does know, is that he wants to learn more. Like whether or not Niles is a restless sleeper, and what his favorite dessert is. What he thinks about when he’s bored.

If his hair is as silky as it looks. How his hand would feel if he held it. If his stubble would leave Odin's skin prickling should he lean in and press their lips together.

Odin’s been in the bath far too long. His fingers look wrinkly and his face feels hot. As he gets up, towels off, the first current thought that strikes him is if Niles would be back from his shift at the mines. And Odin realizes that though his voice is music, it doesn’t really matter what Laslow says.

He’s got a heart behind his ribs and while it took some time to learn its language, he can hear it loud and clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ft. Odin having more feelings, and Laslow being a Good Friend.
> 
> I'm thinking two more chapters before the rating goes up? Something like that. I'm horrible at estimating fic length.


	5. burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sky burns, and so do they.

The time had come for Odin to put his newly acquired skills to the test.

Reports were flooding in of bandits attacking a large number of towns and villages. Yet for some reason, despite stripping these places bare, the villagers themselves were spared. Apparently the bandits built presence instead, aiming for long-term extortion rather than a one-time raid. Their numbers were big enough to overpower the local guard, yet small enough for them to vanish moments after a strike.

Rumors were all Corrin’s army had to go on, and that simply wasn’t enough. They needed actual facts, information they could work with: locations, names, numbers.

It was to be a stealth operation. Multiple teams of two would sneak into the allegedly occupied villages and look for anything suspicious. Hopefully they’d be able to identify the bandits, or at least people who could point them to the bandits. And if they ran into a hideout by accident, well, that’d be a lucky break. The most important thing was to stay under cover of darkness. If the bandits got suspicious, they’d run.

“Nervous?” Niles asks Odin once Corrin ends their mission briefing.

“Ha! Of course not.” Odin sounds confident. He stretches his arms as they leave the briefing hall, squats a few times when he gets outside. “My blood burns with desire to put these fiends to justice!”

Niles strolls out after him, amused. Odin sounds a bit like Arthur, but he decides to keep that observation to himself. “Just make sure it burns quietly, yeah?” he says.

“R-right.” Odin immediately lowers his volume, looking a bit embarrassed. “A silent but _deadly_ flame," he then says. Niles smiles, and checks the sharpness of his dagger one more time before he tucks it in his waistband.

Niles doesn’t feel as comfortable with blades as he does with bows, but carrying a bow and quiver around on a mission like this is just asking for trouble. They’re too heavy, and while Niles is a pretty quick draw, he can’t out speed a dagger to the face. Besides, if everything goes according to plan they won’t even have to engage. Just a quick, clean multi-location recon, and back home before dawn.

Both Niles and Odin disappear briefly to make some final preparations. Niles stuffs a Concoction in his pocket just in case, and Odin changes into clothes he borrowed from Kaze. They’re a bit big on him, Niles notices, but at least they’ll allow him to move quietly without getting obstructed by his own robes.

“Ready?” Niles asks. Some of the other teams had already set out. Thankfully their target was one of the closer villages, so the trek wouldn’t be too long.

Odin fastens the strap that holds his Grimoire. Similar to Niles’s bow, Odin wasn’t expected to use his Tome tonight, but going out unarmed would be reckless. Then, Odin produces a dark facemask from his sleeve. He puts it on backwards.

“Please tell me that’s not Kaze’s," Niles says flatly.

“I purchased it at the Accessory store,” Odin says, his voice muffled through the thin black cloth.

He sounds adorably pleased, and Niles can’t bring himself to tell Odin that a facemask doesn’t make him a Master Ninja. Instead he steps forward, and takes the fabric between his fingers to tug around. Odin blinks.

“You have it on wrong,” Niles explains, and Odin deflates a little, murmuring a soft “thanks” while Niles fixes the mask.

The two of them set out on schedule. Odin trails behind Niles, who knows the way. This also gives Niles the opportunity to kick aside any threatening branches before Odin gets the chance to step on them.

It’s a nice night. Peaceful. The sky is clear, and through the treetops Niles can spot pieces of a bright, full moon. A shame that they have to work. He would’ve enjoyed just finding a nice tree to climb in and staring up at the stars. Niles glances back to see if Odin’s still there- and he is, silly mask and all. To his credit, Odin is doing a spectacular job so far. Niles wonders if he would’ve enjoyed stargazing too. Maybe he’ll invite him next time he goes out. Find a slightly bigger tree. Bring a blanket.

Sounds of civilization stir him from his inner monologue. They’re not too far from the village now, forested areas dissipating into a small farm. Niles holds up his hand, and Odin stiffens like a child playing red light green light.

“On my mark,” he whispers, and Odin nods.

Entering the village was easy. Too easy. Leo’s retainers are on guard as they proceed through abandoned streets, increasingly suspicious of their quiet surroundings. Niles swore he heard sounds at the edge of the village, so why was it silent now?

“Have we stumbled upon a ghost town?” Odin whispers, and Niles would’ve reprimanded him for speaking but there was literally no one around to hear them.

“Unlikely,” he answers. “But let’s not waste such a golden opportunity.”

Odin nods, and Niles is relieved to find him still alert. Whether it’s a result of his training, or simply a fear of ghosts doesn’t really matter at this point.

After a quick comb through the outskirts of the village, Niles and Odin come out as empty as the streets. No suspicious sheds, no shady-looking people, no signs of violence. Nothing. It’s as if the Gods lifted up all life from this town and placed it somewhere else, leaving only buildings behind. Niles is about to call for a retreat, tired of this fruitless mission and eager to enjoy what’s left of the night.

But then Odin suddenly stands still. Niles halts, and turns around.

“Odin?”

“…I thought I saw something," Odin says quietly. He’s staring hard at the sky.

Niles frowns, but he follows Odin’s gaze regardless. What could Odin possibly see in the sky? Pegasi? Wyverns? Not your typical bandit mounts. Maybe all this sneaking had gotten to his head, and he was conjuring up shadows that weren’t there.

But what Odin saw was no mount.

“There it is again!” Odin exclaims, pointing up. Then Niles sees it too, and suddenly everything makes sense.

Fireworks.

A pretty rare sight for a small town like this. Pyrotechnic displays were usually reserved for towns like Cyrkensia, to accentuate the many festivities that take place on an almost daily basis. Fireworks were also lit at royal events sometimes. Either way, they were hard to come by. Whatever this town is celebrating, it must be big. It explains why no one is outside- they must’ve all gathered at the other edge of town, where there’s no danger of damaging houses or starting forest fires.

“A festival, perhaps?” Niles asks no one in particular. Odin hums quietly, too distracted by the colorful explosions in the sky. Niles can’t blame him.

It’s gorgeous. He hasn’t seen many fireworks in his life (aside from those small sticks of gunpowder he sometimes used to blow up particularly stubborn locks), but it still feels like magic. Odin seems to feel the same way, staring up with wide-eyed wonder. Niles stares too.

Each time a firework goes off, Odin smiles a little, his skin glowing with reflected light and his eyes full of man-made stars. It’s loud, far louder after a night of mandatory silence, and Niles can feel the sound in his chest. (Or maybe that's his heartbeat.)

“Is this your first time?” he asks, but Odin can’t hear him over the explosions so Niles steps closer, a hand by his mouth to direct his voice to Odin’s ear. He repeats the question and Odin hears him this time- He shakes his head.

Then he turns to Niles to speak into his ear as well. Niles has to quickly turn his head to prevent their noses from touching. His face feels hot, and so does Odin’s breath. His words tickle his hair.

“You don’t suppose the bandits are behind this, do you?” he asks.

Niles laughs. Odin blinks, and then laughs too.

There’s still some fire up above, but it’s dying down. Niles and Odin wouldn’t know, because they only seem to have eyes for each other now.

It’s odd, Niles thinks, that he can maintain eye contact without feeling the need to hide himself behind a grin. They're so close. He feels more vulnerable than he has in a long time and yet somehow, it’s comfortable. Odin looks radiant, energized by the flurry of lights and colors, and it’s contagious. Niles’s body feels abuzz and his heart beats wildly behind his ribs, and he stares at Odin intently, only to receive a similar, heated stare in return.

Niles reaches up and pulls Odin’s stupid mask down. He watches his lips part, and right as Niles is about to lean in, he feels something against his hand- Odin’s fingers carefully curling around his own in a gesture so awfully innocent, yet scarily intimate.

“Niles,” Odin sighs, and Gods does that sound beautiful, just his breathless voice through echoing streets. Niles grips Odin’s hand a bit tighter.

And realizes that the streets are silent again. Though not as silent as before. There’s footsteps now, dozens of them, people returning to their homes after whatever they’ve been celebrating. There’s murmurs, and laughter, and life.

Odin hears it too, but before he can comment he’s dragged off by Niles. They make a run for the nearest alleyway, hoping to hide themselves in time, only to find the alley occupied.

So _that’s_ where the shady people were hiding. Six, no, seven mean-looking people, wearing hooded clothes and muddy boots. They would’ve blended in perfectly, if not for the way moonlight bounced off of the rings on their fingers and the blades in their hands.

Niles lets go of Odin’s hand to reach for his dagger, hand hovering over its sheath. He knows they’re outmatched. They’re in a narrow space, outnumbered, and Niles has Odin to look after. Their best bet is to run. As long as they can reach the forest, they should be fine-

An arrow clips Niles’s shoulder and he feels warm blood well from his skin into his cape. He looks at the wound, and then up at the roof. Archers. Fleeing together was no longer an option. New plan. He’d stay here and hold the bandits off while Odin runs to get reinforcements.

“Odin,” Niles starts. “Run-”

Odin rips his Grimoire from its casing. Papercut fingers create a hurricane of pages, and a blinding darkness envelops him as he shouts out his first spell. Purple-hued energy forms several spikes, and they shoot up, all of them piercing the archer’s throat with sniper-like precision. His lifeless body slumps and falls off the roof, landing at Odin’s feet with a loud _thud_. Odin shakes his hand free from the lingering sparks of his spell and readies another, his voice sharp like a knife.

Niles doesn’t even get the chance to pull his dagger from its sheath.

It’s a massacre. Spell after spell dances before Niles’s eyes in a display not unlike the fireworks from before, and like before, all Niles can do is stare. One by one the bandits fall, struck by thunder, burnt to a crisp, choked by hands rising up from the shadows. It’s hard to see what’s going on, hard to see anything with the constant clusters of light gathering from the pages of Odin’s Grimoire, and all Niles can hear is Odin’s shouted incantations and loud, dying screams.

When it’s finally over, the quiet hurts. Niles finds his breath, sucks it in like he’s been underwater for hours. He looks around, seeing nothing but bodies. Not a drop of blood stains the streets- each and every bandit had been taken out by magic.

“Are you a-alright?” Odin asks. His voice sounds raw. He turns, and Niles gets a clear view of Odin for the first time since the battle began.

Turns out there _is_ blood staining the streets. Lots of it, right at Odin’s feet. There’s an arrow still lodged in his thigh, and the clothes Odin borrowed from Kaze were slashed.

“Odin-” Niles shoots forward to catch him as Odin’s legs give out. “You absolute moron, what in the Gods’ names were you thinking?!”

Odin doesn’t answer. He just groans a little. Niles carefully guides him to sit propped up against the alley’s wall. He digs around his pockets for that Concoction he knows he brought, and pulls the cork out with his teeth. He spits it aside, and looks for Odin’s eyes. Odin stares back somewhat dazed, probably numb on adrenaline and pain, but he's conscious. That's good.

“I’m going to take out the arrow," Niles announces. Odin nods.

Niles takes a breath, grits his teeth, and yanks out the arrow as cleanly as he can. Odin makes a weak, pained sound, and Niles shushes him while dumping the entire Concoction onto the open wound. He watches as it begins to heal, muscle tissue rebuilding, blood returning to its veins, until Odin’s skin knits itself back together. It leaves a thin, pearly scar - some more healing back at the castle should take care of that.

For now, they have to get out of here. Odin is still covered in cuts and scrapes but he can stand, and Niles supports him as they slowly make their way out through once again silent streets, until they reach the farm they started at. A few more minutes of awkward tandem walking and they’re back in the forest, back to safety. Niles sets Odin down again, leaning him against a tree.

He starts pulling at Odin’s clothes, undressing him to get a closer look at his wounds. None of them seem too serious, thank the Gods. Some potent healing and a good night’s rest would see him fully recovered. Niles breathes out his relief, and proceeds to rip Odin’s shirt to shreds in order to fashion bandages. Odin raises his arms so Niles can bandage up a particularly nasty gash across his ribs- it's not deep, but it's bleeding a lot.

He stops when he hears Odin giggle.

“…You’re laughing," Niles says, worried that he lost Odin to a spell of madness. He hears stories about Dark Mages sometimes, and they aren’t pretty. That, or he’s ticklish. Niles knows which he’d prefer.

But Odin looks at him with a clear, lucid gaze, and his voice doesn’t slur anymore either (though it’s still very raspy).

“This isn’t quite how I imagined it,” he says.

“Imagined…” It takes Niles a second to catch on. Imagined what? The mission? That battle? Niles taking off his clothes- “Oh.”

And while wholly inappropriate in this situation, Niles starts laughing too. They chuckle together, Niles struggling to finish bandaging while Odin’s chest shakes with giggles, until he’s all done and it’s quiet again.

“You know,” Niles starts. Odin gives him a curious look as Niles takes his cape off and drapes it around Odin’s bare shoulders to replace his shirt. There’s a bloodstain on it from Niles’s shoulder, but it should keep him warm for now. “If you wanted me to strip you, all you had to do was ask.”

Odin snorts. Niles gets to his feet.

“Think you can walk?” he asks, holding out his hand for Odin to take. Odin wriggles a bit, testing his body, and nods.

“Yes.” He takes Niles’s hand and pulls himself up.

Niles keeps a close eye on Odin as he takes a few steps, and sees that he’s still limping. The wound in his leg probably hasn't finished healing yet. It’d be best not to strain it too much. Niles takes Odin’s arm, and guides it around his neck. It doesn’t even hurt when Odin’s weight presses into the cut on his shoulder, and Niles figures that while it's not the greatest method in the world, this _would_ stop the bleeding.

“Hold on," he says, and Odin mumbles “thanks”.

As far as stealth goes, this mission was a complete disaster. Niles wonders how the other teams fared. Hopefully they’ll come back with good news. At least Odin’s okay. Niles still feels a bit dizzy with images of the spells he cast, Odin’s magic-laced voice still ringing in his ears.

But it’s a nice night. Peaceful. The sky is clear, and while Niles wasn’t exactly expecting to carry a wounded Odin home, when he looks up he can pretend that they’re stargazing instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [♫](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPRKU57SZRw)
> 
>  
> 
> We're almost there.


	6. relieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niles’s eyes glint with mischief and a touch of relief. Odin feels strangely relieved, too.

The walk from the forest to the castle is a lot harder when you have to lean on someone the entire way there. Odin feels exhausted - and he’s not even the one pulling all the weight. He tries to hide his face in his shoulder when he feels another yawn coming up, but Niles notices. Niles always notices.

He stops walking, effectively making Odin halt too. Standing still they’re pretty much hugging, with Odin’s arm wrapped around Niles’s shoulders and his body leaning against Niles’s side.

“Do you need a break?” Niles asks, but Odin defiantly shakes his head. Niles hums, eyeing Odin like he’s sizing him up, like he’s deciding whether or not to agree.

“Alright,” he ends up saying. “But if you collapse, I’m throwing you over my shoulder.”

Odin blinks. “But your shoulder,” Though probably not the first concern Odin should’ve had, Niles’s shoulder is still looking pretty bad.

“Oh, right. Well, I suppose I’ll just have to pick you up like a princess then.” Niles smiles, and Odin realizes with a sense of betrayal that Niles probably planned that comment from the start.

“I’m fine,” he mumbles, and Niles chuckles. He carefully hoists Odin up a little from where he had slumped down, and guides him back into a steady walking pace.

They stay quiet for most of the road home. It gives Odin time to think – or it would have, if his mind didn’t still feel fuzzy as a side effect from going berserk on those bandits earlier. His temples throb painfully. Much as he’d like to tough it out, he can’t fight the drowsiness that’s slowly overtaking him. Niles’s body is warm, and the discomfort in their odd half-embrace doesn’t keep Odin from wanting to nap where he stands. He can feel Niles side-eying him so he straightens his shoulders as much as he can and clenches his jaw to suppress another yawn. He’s awake. Super awake. In fact, he never sleeps. The darkness is his home. He wakes up when the sun goes down, for that is the life of a Chosen One-

His eyelids disagree. They get heavier by the second, until the road ahead turns into darkness. Odin feels instant relief behind his closed eyes and Niles is saying something now, but Odin can’t quite make out what it is. He smells like pine and blood. It’s weirdly soothing.

*

Odin wakes up to the sound of Niles and Corrin arguing. He looks around, disoriented for a bit until he recognizes the room he’s in: the sick bay. He’s been wrapped in fresh robes and clean bandages, and the pounding in his head is gone. They must’ve healed him already. Right outside the hall, Corrin’s voice gets louder.

“I don’t care Niles! You do _not_ get in the way of Odin’s treatment, or anyone else's treatment for that matter.” Corrin sounds angry. It’s a bit frightening.

“I did not get in the way,” Niles sounds cool and calm as ever, but Odin hears there’s anger in his voice too. “I simply requested to relieve them. Your pretty little maids aren’t the only ones with staff proficiency, you know.”

“Those _pretty little maids_ have saved YOUR life too. Next time you _dare_ to tell them off for doing their job, I’ll see you into the sick bay _myself_.”

Odin sits up a bit as he listens. There’s a roar in Corrin’s words, and he half expects them to go full dragon on Niles any moment now. When the curtains to his bed pull open Odin braces himself for the worst.

But it’s Niles who appears, with Corrin nowhere in sight, and Odin relaxes instantly. (It’s not that Odin is afraid of Corrin, he just doesn’t like his chances against a pissed off dragon.) It looks like Niles is in robes too, and his shoulder is bandaged up. That’s a relief.

“Niles,” Odin says and wow, he sounds like he drank a cup of ashes fresh from the fire. “Corrin, are they-” Odin trips into a coughing fit. Niles offers him an apologetic smile and carefully takes a seat on the bedside. He pats Odin’s back until the coughing stops.

“They’re quite feisty when upset, aren’t they?” Niles then says, musing. All the irritation Odin heard before is nowhere to be found. Niles’s eyes shine, and it’s clear that he isn’t the least bit worried about invoking Corrin’s wrath.

“What did you do?” Odin asks.

Rather than laughing or making a comment about having been a bad boy, Niles… flusters? Odin isn’t sure what that means.

“When we got back, Corrin’s _pet_ came running to heal you," he says, spitting out the word ‘pet’. Probably Jakob. Those two didn’t really get along.

“…Yes?” Odin says, still confused about what exactly Niles did wrong here. Niles sighs like he’s reluctant to finish his explanation.

“Yes. And I told him not to touch you," he says. “Though my choice of words might have been a bit more… colorful.” He shrugs, and offers Odin a smile that’s far too charming.

“Oh.” Odin’s eyes are still all questions marks. This did explain why Corrin got upset, but why would Niles keep a healer from touching him?

Niles apparently sees the confusion in Odin’s face. He just looks at him for a moment and Odin feels his cheeks heat up under his intense gaze. It’s the same way he looked in the village, underneath the fireworks. That look that makes Odin feel warm and safe, makes him want to say things he’d likely regret once the feeling passes.

“Don’t you worry," Niles ends up saying, and Odin would’ve protested but then Niles’s hand is resting gently on his head, and Odin forgets how to speak. “More importantly, how are you feeling?”

Niles takes his hand away and Odin swallows. His throat still hurts but aside from that he feels fine.

“I’m alright, I think," he says. “My head still feels a bit funny.”

Niles nods. “And your leg?”

Odin wiggles his legs underneath the blanket. “Good," he concludes.

“Good,” Niles echoes. His fingers draw lines on the sheets, right by Odin’s leg but not quite close enough to touch him. Odin shifts a bit and puts his hands in his lap, on top of the blankets.

“Selena and Beruka ended up bringing someone in,” Niles says, looking down at his own hand as it slowly inches closer to Odin’s thigh. “He’s being questioned at the prison. Looks like he knows quite a bit about our bandit friends.”

Niles sounds like he would’ve enjoyed partaking in that questioning. Odin doubts Selena would go easy on the guy though, and Beruka isn’t known for her kindness either. He’s relieved to hear the others were more successful. Odin looks away from Niles’s fingers and stares at the cup of water by his bed.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. Niles looks up, but Odin continues before he can interrupt. “I ruined our mission, I-”

Odin shuts up when he feels Niles touch his hand. Their fingers curl around each other like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and Odin feels his heartbeat in his ears.

“My dearest Odin,” Niles says, and Odin is momentarily taken aback by how genuine it sounds. He only ever hears Niles use nicknames diminishingly. “Stop spouting nonsense.”

“B-but-” Odin doesn’t even get a chance to stutter.

“You saved my hide back there. Are you telling me you regret doing so?”

“No!” Odin exclaims with a hint of panic. “No, of course not.”

“Then you should save your apologies, don’t you think?” Niles smiles at him, and Odin slumps a little. Their hands are still folded together.

“Besides,” Niles then says, regaining Odin’s attention. “I think I rather enjoy it when you let that bloodlust of yours roam free.”

Now it’s Odin who smiles. Niles squeezes his hand.

“Lord Leo will come in for a report later,” Niles says. “I’ve already given him mine.”

Odin immediately tries to get up from the bed. He’s stopped by Niles’s palm pushing him back down.

“Ah, ah, ah. You’re not going anywhere. Our liege will come see you here.” Niles gives him a look. “But before he does, there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss.”

Odin gives up on his escape attempt and oh, Niles is definitely a lot closer now. The bed dips as he leans towards him.

“Something else?” Odin asks, hyper-aware of how _close_ Niles is.

“Yes. Though _discuss_ might not be the proper word,” Niles admits.

Odin chuckles quietly. “Since when have you cared for proper?”

Niles smiles, baring his teeth and Odin can’t help but smile back, though both their smiles fade when Niles moves in close enough for their noses to touch. Odin can feel Niles’s breath on his lips, and promptly holds his own. His face burns and the pounding in his head is back with a vengeance, though it feels very different from before. The butterflies in his stomach seem to have given his heart wings as well, and it’s trying to take flight right through his ribs. When Niles leans in even closer, Odin shuts his eyes. He feels Niles release his hand, and seconds later there’s fingertips brushing down his cheek, accompanied by a rough whisper.

“When, indeed.”

And then Niles kisses him, softly, pets at his jaw and Odin fears he might faint again. He fists his hands into the sheets and weakly pushes back against Niles’s mouth, dizzy with the thick, syrupy heat pouring into him through his lips.

When Niles pulls back he looks as flushed as Odin feels, and Odin might have teased him for it but his brain is still recovering from the meltdown Niles caused just now.

“Lord Leo will be here soon,” Niles says quietly. He seems breathless, and that alone makes Odin breathless too. “Though we could… _talk_ some more later. If you’re interested?”

And while Odin’s thoughts are one big buzzing mess at the moment, he knows without a doubt that he is most definitely interested.

“Yeah. Okay," he breathes. Niles’s eyes glint with mischief and a touch of relief. Odin feels strangely relieved, too.

“Then you’ll see me soon. Be good and stay put, alright? The healers aren’t quite done with you yet.” He pulls himself off the bed, pausing on his way out. “…And neither am I.”

Odin gapes as Niles disappears through the curtains, and reaches for his water like a man about to die from thirst.


	7. admire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niles is a bit relieved heaven didn’t keep him, because that’s clearly where Odin belongs.

It’s getting late.

Niles waits outside the sick bay for Leo to leave Odin’s bedside. He was hoping to listen in on their conversation, but Odin’s sore throat and Leo’s monotone made it impossible for him to hear anything. When Leo emerges from the hall, Niles stands a bit straighter.

“Milord,” he starts, but Leo interrupts him.

“It appears your concern was unnecessary,” he says, straightening his cuffs. “Odin just asked to be relieved of stealth missions himself. It required zero convincing on my part.”

Niles releases the breath he’d been holding; Leo’s lips curl upward at the sight. He shakes his head with fond disapproval.

“I expect this takes care of your request?” he asks.

Niles nods. “Yes, milord. Thank you.” There’s a smile on his face when he bows his head. Leo watches for a second, and then shakes off the affectionate atmosphere with a shrug of his shoulders.

“See to it that you take care of yourselves,” he orders. “I want you both back on the roster as soon as possible.”

Niles nods again, his head still bowed. Leo nods too and heads off. Niles waits until he’s out of sight before quietly stepping through the hall to Odin’s bed. When he peeks through the curtains shielding him from onlookers, he finds Odin sleeping soundly. Probably exhausted from reporting to lord Leo, and all that healing can really do a number on you too. Niles watches Odin breathe through parted lips, and sighs.

He rarely catches him asleep –Odin looks so vulnerable, so fragile. Nothing at all like the Dark Mage who single-handedly eliminated a dozen bandits no less than a day ago.

Niles wanted to protect him, watch over him, hide him in the shadows where he knew he’d be safe… But Niles was wrong. Odin wasn’t safe under cover of darkness, wasn’t safe when he had to keep his voice down. He wasn’t safe sneaking, sticking to walls and climbing on rooftops.

Odin is safe when he’s loud. Safe when he stands strongly in the center of a battlefield with enough room to flourish should his spells need the extra flair. Safer when he can be himself, when the magic he weaves bursts with the power that runs deep in his perpetually aching blood. Safest and unrivalled when given the freedom to do what he does best. Forcing Odin into any other role would be the same as throwing him into a fight unarmed, and Niles derived no pleasure from that kind of cruelty.

So he implored his liege to reconsider Odin’s training. Withdraw him from these stealth missions, no matter how vital they were to the army- Niles would take the workload, he could handle it. Prince Leo heard him, understood him, but said he would have to discuss the matter with Odin himself. And apparently, Niles needn’t have asked.

Odin makes a soft sound in his sleep, stirring Niles from his thoughts. He should go before he accidentally wakes him. Now that Niles was finally out of bandages himself, he could really use a breath of fresh air. Maybe do a bit of scouting before Odin gets released from the sick bay, so he could plan the best spot for them to stargaze (another time, when they’d be rested enough to fall asleep in each other’s arms).

*

Odin’s bare feet tap against the stone tiles as he pads his way out of the bathhouse. While wrapped in an abundance of fluffy towels and a thick white robe, he forgot to bring footwear of sorts. Niles is there when Odin comes outside, and smiles at the hint of surprise in his face.

“Niles?” Odin says, his voice healthy and clear once more. Niles smiles a bit wider.

“Thought I’d make sure you get yourself to bed safely," he says. He’s lying. He nods down at Odin’s shoeless feet. “Any puddles you’d like me to carry you across, princess?”

Odin chuckles awkwardly and runs a hand through his still damp hair. “I have no fear of puddles," he says, but when Niles holds out his arm Odin takes it anyway.

They make their way across the dark castle grounds towards their quarters. Halting in front of Odin’s door, Niles lets go of his arm and turns around. Odin looks up at him, skin still flushed from the hot bath and Gods, he’s beautiful.

“Um, good night?” Odin says.

Niles raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“No. I mean, yes, unless – well, that is, if you’d, uh.” Niles watches on with amusement as Odin sputters his way through several sentences at the same time.

“Take your time,” he teases. “We’ve got all night.”

Odin frowns and gives him a gentle shove. Niles laughs, then holds out his hand.

“I’ve got the fireplace going…” he starts, but then he trails off. He watches Odin look down at his offered hand. In his mind, Niles cycles through a plethora of puns and suggestively phrased questions, trying to find one that fits what he wants to say. Nothing does. He doesn’t want to make Odin fluster with discomfort, nor upset him with provocation. What other options did he have? With a flash of nerves that he quickly swallows down, Niles resigns himself to the fact that he will just have to be candid. He lets his hand fall back to his side and draws a breath.

“Stay with me tonight," Niles says. He doesn’t have to explain his intentions. Odin’s eyes widen slightly and for a single, horrible second Niles worries he’ll say no.

But then he nods, quick and quiet like a secret.

He steps into Niles’s room with a similar brand of caution, almost tiptoeing across the carpeted floor towards the fire where he sits himself down. Niles sits down beside him, wipes at a stray drop of water trying to make its way down Odin’s neck. He can hear Odin exhale like he’s doing breathing exercises.

“I, uh," Odin carefully breaks the silence, speaking up over the crackling fire. “I asked lord Leo if I might be exempt from doing stealth missions.”

“Hmm,” Niles hums like a good active listener while his fingers continue to brush through the unbelievably soft hairs at Odin’s neck. “Did you?”

(Niles knows he did, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way the fire makes Odin’s skin glow, and the goosebumps Niles can see rising under his touch. What matters is how Odin tilts his head just slightly to guide Niles’s hand further along the side of his neck.)

“He agreed. So that would put an end to our lessons," Odin continues.

“Don’t tell me it was my rigorous training regime that made you want to quit," Niles says, too serious to be taken seriously. He trails a finger from Odin’s neck to his shoulder, stopping when it meets the thick fabric of his bathrobe. Odin chuckles and it sounds delightful.

“No," he then says, prompting Niles to fake a relieved sigh.

“Good.” He stands up, and pulls Odin up with him. Slowly, he reaches for the band that holds his bathrobe together at the waist, giving Odin ample time to stop him. Odin doesn’t stop him. He just stands there, breathing shallowly, watching Niles undo his clothes while the fireplace flickers in his eyes. “Because I have a lot more I’d like to show you.”

Odin’s eyes lid slightly. He tips his chin up a little when Niles leans down, looking like he wants to say something but Niles guesses he’ll never know because his lips get there first.

He sinks a hand into Odin’s hair, supporting his head while pulling him closer into his kiss. His thumb rubs at his jaw, easing it open with soft little circles until Odin parts his lips. Niles can feel him whimper when their tongues meet, and a low sound of his own escapes. Odin is magnetic.

They keep kissing while Niles walks him towards his bed. Their teeth clack together and Odin tries to match his steps, tries to help Niles undo the stubborn knot of his robes until it finally comes loose. He moves to slide it off but Niles stops him, one arm circling around Odin’s waist right as they reach the edge of the bed.

“Leave it,” Niles says, and Odin is about to ask why but then finds his mouth otherwise engaged. They sink down rather awkwardly, Niles trying his best not to lean too heavily onto Odin while Odin shuffles back to give Niles room. There’s lots of shifting and (far too) little kissing, until Odin lies on his back with the bathrobe spread underneath him. Niles lies by his side, propped up on an elbow.

Odin asks for another kiss with a tilt of his head, but Niles touches the pad of his index finger to Odin’s lips instead. They’re reddened already, wearing Niles’s kisses with a subtle shine. Niles stares unabashedly as he drags his finger down Odin’s mouth towards his throat. He touches right below his Adam’s apple and lingers there, taking in the soft thrum pulsing through Odin’s veins. Niles strokes at it, follows it down to Odin’s chest and presses his hand flat across his heart, finding a new kind of appreciation for the steady beat he feels underneath his palm.

“You’re fully clothed,” Odin says quietly, more an observation than it is an accusation. Niles nods, undistracted from tracing Odin’s ribs with the tips of his fingers.

“You’re gorgeous,” Niles says, just as quiet, just as much an observation. Odin shivers. He reaches out to touch him but Niles catches his wrist and turns his hand to press a kiss into his palm.

They make eye contact. Odin reads between the lines and lets Niles guide his hand back down, where it curls into scratchy cotton sheets. Niles leans in and kisses him sweetly, hoping to make up for what he can’t yet bring himself to say. (One day he’ll let Odin touch him, undress him, but right now that thought is terrifying and Odin understands – or appears to understand, anyway.)

Their short moment of silent communication ends when Niles lazily strokes his way down Odin’s stomach, past his abdomen, using his nails to draw gentle lines from one hipbone to the other. Odin jolts with a gasp and pulls his knees up. Niles smiles.

“You’re ticklish,” he concludes, and Odin huffs, averting his eyes when Niles looks up. “Hey, none of that now.” He pecks his cheek, but Odin stubbornly keeps facing away. Challenge accepted, Niles proceeds to nuzzle him, nose to nose, fingers dancing right below his navel until Odin caves with a breathless giggle. He turns, catching only a glimpse of the silver threads in Niles’s dark eyes before finding himself thoroughly kissed. His heels slide back down the bedding in surrender.

Niles could kiss Odin forever. His mouth is soft and hot, tastes faintly of medicinal tea and a hint of blood and he opens up so beautifully when Niles presses deeper. Odin moans around Niles’s tongue - the sound drips all the way down to his core, and Niles decides wants more of it.

He pulls back, laughs at the miffed noise Odin makes and kisses his jaw. He strokes down Odin’s hips, feels up his inner thighs with broad swipes of his hand and Odin breathes out the sweetest little sigh as he lets his legs fall open.

“Have you done this before?” Niles asks.

Odin shakes his head. His blush has poured all the way down to his shoulders and Niles kisses his collarbones.

“Alone, I mean,” Niles adds. Odin averts his eyes again- it’s enough of an answer. “You’re adorable when you get embarrassed.”

Odin shoves at his shoulder and Niles catches his hand. There’s no struggle as he guides it down between Odin’s legs and he revels in the way Odin’s breath hitches when his own fingers slip underneath the thin fabric of his smallclothes.

“How do you do it?” Niles’s lips are pressed to Odin’s shoulder. He keeps his hand right where it is, covering Odin’s hand, and nudges it down a bit more. “Show me what you like.”

Odin holds still for a moment, hesitating, but then Niles kisses his neck just _so_ and his hand moves on its own. He closes his eyes and tries not to think too hard about how Niles is right there, watching him, feeling it when he reaches down to rub at his own soft dick. Niles soothes the tension with more kisses, gentle nibbles of his teeth and hot touches of his tongue and oh, _Gods_ , it’s working. Odin turns to him, breathing shakily into his hair as he gets himself hard. Niles’s hand rests warm and strong against his knuckles, following every move he makes.

“Good,” he says, and Odin whines quietly. “You’re so good, Odin.”

Odin’s legs twitch and Niles feels his hand squeeze, smiles when he gasps and decides that that’s just about enough. He peels Odin’s hand away and sits up a little to kiss all five fingertips before he lets go of his wrist. Odin’s gaze is the perfect amount of hazy when he meets Niles’s eyes and Niles stares, stroking a thumb along Odin’s cheekbone. His other hand finds its way back down between Odin’s legs, feels him out through his smallclothes. He tugs them down just enough, taking Odin’s cock in a firm grip. Odin closes his eyes with a shudder.

“Keep those eyes open for me darling.” Niles sighs sweetly when Odin obeys and blinks his eyes back open. He rewards him by swiping his thumb at Odin’s wet slit, and drinks in the needy sound that pulls from Odin’s throat.

“That’s it,” he encourages, teasing at the head of Odin’s dick until he’s found the right angle for his wrist. Odin struggles to keep his eyes focused when Niles starts stroking him, mimicking the exact touch Odin gave himself. It’s almost scary how perfect of an imitation it is- Niles seems to know exactly how to move, where to drag his fingers, when to pause and it’s driving Odin mad.

But then Niles does something new, twists his fingers around Odin’s ridge and he can’t help it, his eyes fall shut and his hips buck up. He can hear the smile in Niles’s voice.

“Oh? Let’s see that again," Niles muses and it’s the only warning Odin gets before Niles repeats the motion a bit faster, a bit tighter and Odin tips his head back and _moans_ , shivering when Niles gives a soft moan in return. “Utterly gorgeous," Niles breathes, and Odin forces his eyes back open to see Niles staring down at him with a fondness that makes his chest ache. He strains his neck to ask for a kiss and Niles gives it to him, slow and open-mouthed while his hand skates further down to cup his balls. Odin makes a soft noise around Niles’s tongue, tries to catch his breath while Niles plays with his sensitive skin, lower and lower still until he’s got a finger pressed to his taint.

That makes Odin freeze up, and Niles pulls back to look at his face (though his hand stays in place). He is about to ask but Odin beats him to it, face redder than ever and his mouth overflowing with nervous babbles.

“I, that- I haven’t, ever," he manages and Niles nods, shushes him with a sweet kiss to the corner of Odin’s lips.

“Can I?” Niles asks, more breathless than Odin was expecting. He keeps pressing tiny kisses to Odin’s lips, his jaw, a perfect distraction from his finger pushing gently, promisingly against that strange stretch of skin. Odin feels his cock twitch.

“I’ll make it good for you.” The heat in Niles’s voice burns through Odin’s body and he’s kind of nervous, kind of curious, more than kind of aroused. He turns his head to the side, and gives the tiniest nod he’s ever given. Niles nudges his chin with his nose. “Use your words, Odin.” He says, patient and kind and Odin groans in frustration.

“I’ve bestowed upon you my blessing,” he finally murmurs. Niles looks at him and blinks.

“Maybe not that many words,” he teases and Odin glares, then snorts when Niles pokes his side. (Gods be damned, now that Niles knows he’s ticklish he will never be safe again.) Niles sits up, away from Odin, moving with renewed energy as he rolls himself to the edge of the bed to reach underneath. Odin watches, breathes quietly and tries to ignore how his heart is attempting to trade places with his throat.

What Niles comes back up with looks an awful lot like an Elixir bottle, but taller and made of dark-tinted glass. Odin tries not to stare (he doesn’t want to seem TOO inexperienced) but Niles notices anyway. He takes Odin’s hand and tips a drop of the bottle’s content onto his finger. It doesn’t really smell like anything. Odin swipes at it with his thumb, watches as the oily liquid makes his skin shine, and then it clicks. Oh. _Oh._

Niles has long since had such revelations. He clearly knows what he’s doing when he strips Odin’s smallclothes off his body entirely and takes the opportunity to kiss his ankles, the inside of his knees, all the way up to his stomach which leaves Odin with the cutest look of disappointment on his face. Niles settles in by his side, takes a gentle hold of his chin to tug him into another kiss and Odin melts, disappointment forgotten. When Niles’s now slick hand returns to wrap around his cock Odin forgets everything else, too.

It’s quiet in the room save for Odin’s harsh breathing, broken up by the occasional gasps and Niles’s whispered encouragements. His touch feels _amazing_ and with the little brainpower he has left, Odin thinks this might be all he’ll have the stamina to endure. But then Niles’s fingers travel lower again, leaving that oily substance dripping in their wake as they move past Odin’s balls, tease a stroke at his taint and then move even lower along the curve of Odin’s ass.

Odin gets too distracted by those wandering fingers to keep kissing, his lips stilling, and Niles takes the opportunity to suck Odin’s bottom lip into his mouth. At the same time, he carefully nudges the tip of his index finger between his cheeks. Odin lies motionless, almost scarily so and Niles pulls away to look him in the eyes.

“Breathe, Odin," he instructs, and Odin immediately exhales like he’s been holding his breath for days. “Good.” Niles praises calmly, his finger pressing a bit more insistently against Odin’s hole. He pushes it in just a little and Odin shudders, one hand clutching the sheets while the other clings to Niles’s shoulder like a lifeline.

“How does it feel?” Niles implores, speaking against Odin’s lips as he gradually slides his finger in deeper. “You can tell me.” Odin squirms a little.

“…Weird,” he then says, and Niles has to bite his tongue not to laugh because of all the eloquent and colorful phrases he could’ve used he goes with “weird” and it’s perfect in a way that is so indisputably _Odin_.

“Don’t fret,” soothes Niles, kissing at Odin’s jaw. “I’ll take care of you.”

Odin nods, squirms a bit more around the sensation of having something inside of him, but then Niles drags his finger out torturously slow and the feeling is gone. Odin can feel Niles shifting on the bed as he finds a comfortable position and then it’s back, bringing with it a sense of relief that Odin wasn’t expecting to feel. Niles keeps his finger moving this time, slow strokes in and out, creating slick sounds that make Odin’s face burn. Niles kisses his lips and Odin manages to kiss him back, relaxing more and more as his body grows accustomed to the feeling (although to be fair, Odin thinks he could get used to just about anything if Niles were to kiss him through it).

Then Niles stops again, sits up, reaches down with his free hand and Odin wrenches his eyes open just in time to see him tip the not-quite-elixir bottle right over Odin’s crotch. Niles catches his eye and stares right at him while he drags his fingers through the oily liquid. Odin’s hips buck up and Niles chuckles at the sight, tossing the now empty bottle to lazily stroke at Odin’s cock instead. His other hand slides back down to Odin’s ass, and Odin feels a flutter of anticipation.

“Pull up your legs,” Niles says, but Odin needs a moment before he actually registers the words. Once he does he slides his heels up, knees pointed to the ceiling with his feet pressing into the sheets below. He shivers as he feels the excessive amount of oil drip even further down, soaking into his bathrobe where Niles doesn’t catch it on his fingertips. “Good,” Niles whispers, and Odin shivers again.

He fills Odin back up slow, looks at him through his parted legs and Odin struggles not to cave under that heated gaze. He makes a rather undignified sound when he feels _two_ fingertips press against him instead of just one and he’s actually a bit surprised by how easily his body accepts them, how smooth the stretch feels…

“That’s it. Gods, you’re ravishing," Niles breathes, holding still for a moment when Odin arches up from the bed. His free hand, now shining with oil as well, rubs slowly at Odin’s shaft and Odin chokes out a moan, heels digging into the sheets. Niles smiles in a manner that could’ve been interpreted as predatory if Odin hadn’t felt so safe and warm and _full_.

It’s getting noisier, from his gasped out moans to the wetness between his legs, but Odin has stopped caring about the rather embarrassing sounds produced from Niles fucking into him with two slick fingers. The angle is different with his knees bent, and though he misses Niles’s lips on his own, he can’t deny that it feels good like this, too. Really, _really_ good.

Then Niles crooks his fingers a little, searching, and Odin feels a shock so strong he momentarily wonders if it’s his blood calling out to him. But then it happens again and Odin realizes that no, it has nothing to do with his blood and everything to do with the way Niles’s fingers are just slightly curled as they pump in and out of his hole. He needs a few thrusts before he can wrap his head around the sensation and even then everything stays abuzz, sparks riding his skin all the way up to his temples only to crash back down. He sucks in a breath, gasps it back out looks at Niles, confusion filling in the parts of his expression that aren’t occupied by white hot arousal.

“I promised I’d make it good, didn’t I?” Niles says, like he’s commenting on the weather and Odin would’ve complained but then Niles shoves his fingers in a bit harder and Odin’s voice breaks.

“A-ah, Niles-!” Odin arches up and his hands scramble at the sheets for purchase, something to ground himself with because if this lasts much longer, he won’t.

Niles exhales shakily. Odin is rocking his hips now, probably without even realizing it, working himself back onto Niles’s fingers while simultaneously fucking up into his fist and _Gods above and below_ , this man is a _miracle._

“Come on,” Niles says, gripping Odin’s cock just a little bit tighter. Odin immediately moans louder, his pitch shaky and his voice raw and Niles burns with a need to see Odin unravel, to see him caught in pleasure, to make him feel good to the core of his being. “Almost there - you’re doing so well… Want you to come, darling, want you to come for me.”

And Odin can’t control it, like Niles’s words are hitting him deeper than his fingers, touching something that sets him off completely. He trembles and shakes, brows furrowed and mouth open wide as his body locks up, tightens, soundless cries tripping over his tongue until he holds his breath altogether.

He comes hard, shooting into Niles’s hand until he’s got nothing left to give, and his body sinks back into the sheets like he’d been suspended somehow. Deep pleasure rolls through him, pulling the occasional stutter from his muscles, the occasional whine from his throat and Niles is there to carry him through it all. Warm hands are quickly wiped on Odin’s bathrobe before they stroke soothingly down Odin’s body from his shoulders to his knees, rubbing gently at his arms, his hips as Odin slowly makes his way back down to earth.

(Niles is a bit relieved heaven didn’t keep him, because that’s clearly where Odin belongs.)

Niles leans over and kisses him sweetly, feeling just as sated as Odin looks. Odin’s heartbeat calms under the palm of Niles’s hand, and then his arms come up to wrap around him, shaky and loving and Niles lets them. He briefly pulls away to extract the now soiled bathrobe from beneath Odin’s spent body, tossing it aside before Odin makes another attempt to pull him into an uncoordinated embrace.

Figures he’d be a cuddler. But Niles doesn’t mind, lets Odin cling and curl around him to his heart’s content, pets gently at his hair.

The hearth’s fire is burning out. It leaves the room mostly dark save the occasional flicker of dying embers. Odin mumbles something Niles is pretty sure he mishears but then Odin removes his face from where it’d been tucked into Niles’s shoulder and repeats himself in a small, sleepy voice.

“I love you.”

And a tiny voice in Niles’s head spits venom, says it’s just hormones, that Odin’s just saying that because he just spilled himself all over the back of his hand, but the voice in his heart is louder. More pleasant to listen to. Tells him that it doesn’t matter what the reason behind Odin’s messy mumbling is: it won’t change the way _he_ feels.

“Love you too.”

_-fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a wonderful weekend <3

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so, I can explain.
> 
> I was requested to write praise kink Niles/Odin, and oh my God did I try, but I simply can't do it without a proper setup. So, uh, it might take another chapter or two. Maybe three.


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